Laparoscopic surgery provides a number of advantages over invasive surgery. The use of surgical robotics in laparoscopic procedures provides further advantages to both surgeons and patients. Laparoscopic surgery, also known as minimally invasive surgery, involves making small incisions (approximately 1-2 cm long) into the patient and then inserting a long, thin instrument with a variety of tools attached to the end. A camera is similarly inserted into the operation area to provide visual feedback during the operation. Although much trauma to the patient's body is avoided and blood-loss is reduced, there remain notable disadvantages to laparoscopy. Due to the position of the critical organs, possible avenues in the body cavity through which to gain access to the operation site are limited and can necessitate the surgeon operating his tools while in an awkward position. For example, the surgeon may be required to operate with tools that are inserted on opposite sides of the body, requiring each of his/her arms to be wrapped around the body of a patient. Furthermore, maintaining a proper view of the monitor displaying the video feed during the operation while manipulating the surgical tools is yet another challenge.
The da Vinci® robot by Intuitive Surgical is a commercially available surgical robot that allows a surgeon at a control station to remotely manipulate a set of robotic arms tipped with various tools. This control scheme, while still somewhat artificial, is more intuitive than direct manipulation of laparoscopic instruments. The control station provides 3-D stereoscopic visual feedback via a pair of cameras inserted at the operation site. The video display is positioned above the gripper controls so that the surgeon sees the grippers moving in the same plane as his hands. The surgeon sits down while operating, resulting in reduced stress as well as a more natural body position. The main limitation with the da Vinci system is that the master controls provide little to no force feedback. As a result, the surgeon may have difficulty obtaining a realistic feel of the forces that he or she is exerting with the robotic end effectors. Anecdotal evidence reveals that the da Vinci® robot is capable of easily rupturing tissue or breaking sutures and, as a result, many surgeons do not feel comfortable using the device due to the lack of feedback communicating the amount of force they are applying.